“THE COMMITTED ONE“ – ARMED CONFLICT IN COLOMBIA (1964-2016)
José David Ríos grew up in southwestern Colombia. People here live mostly from growing coca and drug trafficking. The conflict between the government, the rebel army FARC, and paramilitaries shaped José’s childhood from an early age. Just before he turned nine, he was caught in a crossfire. Bullets hit his arm and both legs. For a long time, José could not deal with his feelings; fear and anger overwhelmed him. Since attending a youth programme organised by Save the Chil- dren in Colombia, he has begun to work through his trauma.
For 50 years, Colombia has been mired in a bloody civil war, fought between government forces, guerrilla groups, paramilitaries and organized criminal gangs. Two million children and young people are victims of this conflict. They have been forced to flee, have lost relatives or have been caught in the line of fire themselves. José is one of them.
IN THE LINE OF FIRE
José was caught in this battle between guerrilla groups and government troops when he was just 9 years old. One bullet hit him in the left arm, a second pierced first the right, then the left thigh. José lost a cousin that day. Another was wounded in the hand, losing two fingers.
José was severely traumatized by this experience. Fear and anger dominated him, and he lacked an outlet for these feelings. “I started quarrelling with others, looking for trouble. And because I wasn’t paying attention in school any more, I fell behind by two years.”
Then he hears about the Save the Children youth program. The motto: “Yo participo, yo comunico“ - I participate, I communicate. At first, José is skeptical. But he quickly takes a liking to it, because this program is different from others he has already experienced. The young people discuss, they talk about children's rights, about equality between men and women. They create videos for a YouTube channel, learn to act in front of and behind the camera.
Today, after the end of the program, José continues it independently, together with his friends. He wants to give something back, to help other children who are like him - before. Ideally, he would like to study law. “Then I could help the people here to change something.”
“IN THE MIST BETWEEN YESTERDAY AND TOMORROW“
Mayte Carrasco and Marcel Mettelsiefen are war reporters and parents of a daughter. They take up the fate of children in conflict regions in many of their films. That the heart of the two native Spanish speakers beats especially for the victims of the Colombian civil war is shown by their reflection on two images of José's story.